Archives for August 2016

Phoenix, AZ – Corporation Commissioner Andy Tobin has advanced to the General Election in the race for the Arizona Corporation Commission. Tobin, the former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, was appointed by Governor Doug Ducey to fill a vacancy on the Commission. In early results, Tobin received strong support in Arizona’s rural counties and finished near the top in Maricopa and Pima Counties.

“I am beyond grateful to the people of Arizona who voted to nominate me as one of the Republican Party’s nominees for the Arizona Corporation Commission.Serving the voters and taxpayers of Arizona has been one of my life’s biggest and most important professional accomplishments. My purpose for serving on the Commission has always been straightforward: Protect Arizonans and grow an economy. Period. I want to ensure that all Arizonans have access to a reliable and affordable electrical grid, clean water and safe infrastructure. I want to continue the implementation of conservative reforms such as Governor Doug Ducey’s ‘Lean Government Initiative.’ I want to fight for our seniors who often are taken advantage of by unscrupulous financial planners.”

Andy Tobin

Commissioner Tobin continued: “After serving on the Commission for over 200 days, it is clear to me that there is still so much more work to be done here on behalf of Arizonans. This election is far from over. Special interest groups connected to Hillary Clinton and the Obama Administration are threatening to turn the Commission a deep shade of liberal blue. It seems like every week, a new burdensome, job-killing environmental regulation scuttles out of Washington.Let’s send a clear message at the polls this November: Arizona, especially our rural communities, cannot afford the federal government’s ‘wisdom,’and we must not stand for it either. I ask for your vote for the Arizona Corporation Commission because I understand that the job of elected leaders is not to protect themselves or the government — it is to protect the taxpayers.”

Of course, this assumes that voter registration and turnout models are the same (which they are not). As you can see, John McCain collected 82, 676 fewer votes than he did in 2010. He also lost 4.6% of his edge among Republican voters.

What does this mean moving forward?

John McCain will likely face his most difficult General Election ever.

Ann Kirkpatrick

In her last campaign finance reporting, Ann Kirkpatrick disclosed she has $2.3 Million in the bank. John McCain’s last report showed just over $5 Million cash on hand. Assuming he’s depleted a portion of that amount fending off Primary challengers, and, the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee has allocated funds to Arizona, this will be McCain’s toughest campaign.

If we also consider the “Trump Factor” and the division in the Arizona Republican Party, Arizona Republicans run a higher risk of losing this US Senate seat to Ann Kirkpatrick.

Not surprising, those voting for Donald Trump may not vote for John McCain and those voting for John McCain may not be voting for Donald Trump.

I still see a divided Republican Party in Arizona between those who learned from the 2012 Presidential race and those who didn’t.

Republicans in Arizona are not united, and it’s still to be seen if they will be on November 8th.

Last week, a mailer went out from an independent expenditure in support of Kate Brophy McGee. On the mailer, was a list of organizations that endorsed Brophy McGee in her race for Arizona State Senate. One of those endorsements was Arizona Right to Life.

This endorsement was incorrect. Arizona Right to Life did NOT endorse Kate Brophy McGee.

This was brought to my attention because I was once the Executive Director and Director for the Arizona Right to Life.

Given Brophy McGee’s voting record, she has never been endorsed by Arizona Right to Life.

In her Primary race, she is running unopposed as a Republican. She receive the Republican nomination on Tuesday, August 30th. She will run against a rabidly liberal, pro-abortion Democrat, Eric Meyer, in the General Election.

The mailer that was sent out was produced in error. Again, Kate Brophy-McGee was not endorsed by Arizona Right to Life.

The vendor who prepared the mailer, made an error. The vendor also released a letter and apology to Arizona Right to Life stating that mailer was done in error.

We would like to offer our sincerest apologies for having listed Az. Right To Life on the LD 28 endorsement piece we did for a client recently.

By way of background, I am pro-life and had the privilege of working for your organization several years ago. I hold your organization in high esteem.

It is always an honor for a candidate to receive the endorsement from Az. Right To Life. However, due to an unfortunate error on my part, your organization was listed for someone who was not on your endorsed list. For that, we sincerely apologize to Arizona Right To Life and to you Greg, for this error.

We wish you the very best this election season. If you have any other concerns, please don’t hesitate to call me.

NEARLY THREE QUARTERS OF A MILLION DOLLARS SPENTAND THEY AREN’T DONE YET!

In campaign finance reports submitted today, it’s reported that Save Our AZ Solarspent $667,082.04 with the hopes of getting Bob Burns re-elected to the Corporation Commission. When you dive a little deeper into the numbers you’ll see that Save Our AZ Solar received $700,000 from SolarCity. And ALL of this spending took place over a 16 day period – August 2 – August 18. You can review the finance report here.

Sinister rumors started by the McCain campaign claim that Dr. Kelli Ward is not pro-life. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Here’s what pro-life leaders are saying about Dr. Kelli Ward:

Kelli Ward has received the powerful endorsement of the doctor who has been called the “Father of the Pro-Life Movement” as well as Arizona pro-life activist Christine Accurso.

Accurso said,

“John McCain has voted in favor of embryonic stem cell research. Dr. Kelli Ward is an outstanding pro-life leader, and I have been honored to watch her fight for the lives of the unborn on the Arizona Senate floor. Her passion, dedication, medical expertise, and commitment to solid pro-life principles are unwavering and the reason she has my vote! I endorse Kelli, and I urge all Arizonans to vote Kelli Ward for U.S. Senate!”

In May, Cathi Herrod, President of the Center for Arizona Policy set the record straight saying,

“For the record, Kelli Ward had a 100% pro-life voting record as a State Senator. Never wavered.”

Ward was endorsed in May by Phyllis Schlafly who successfully inserted the pro-life plank into the Republican platform at the 1976 Republican National Convention.

Dr. John Grady, a distinguished physician and surgeon and nationally recognized author and lecturer, said

“In the Arizona Senate, Kelli Ward had a 100% pro-constitution and pro-life record. In the U.S. Senate, Dr. Kelli Ward will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. She will respect and defend the rights and dignity of all Americans — both born and unborn.”

Dr. Grady practiced in general medicine, surgery, and trauma and has delivered more than 3,000 babies. Dr. Grady was also the founder of the first state and national pro-life organizations. In 1966, seven years before Roe v. Wade, he authored the small book, Abortion – Yes or No, which became the most widely read treatise in the world on the subject and the primer for the pro-life movement.

Dr. Grady stated,

“There are many vital issues now before us, but the issue for which this nation will be judged by God is the wholesale slaughter of the unborn, with more than 50 million innocent unborn babies killed by abortion since 1973. If this nation is to survive, we must ensure that constitutional judges are appointed, especially to the Supreme Court. To do this we must have a strong majority of truly conservative Republican Senators who will uphold the Constitution. Senator Kelli Ward will be one of the loyal Americans who will lead that restoration. Sadly, John McCain’s record shows that he is not the solid conservative and uncompromising constitutional Republican we need in these critical times.”

Kelli said at a recent town hall meeting:

“Attack ads may twist my words out of context to paint a false picture of who John McCain wants you to think I am, but my 100% Pro-Life Voting Record tells who I really am and, most importantly, how I’ll vote in the United States Senate.

“I believe human life is a precious gift from God that begins at conception and deserves the full and equal protection of our laws.

“No matter how they slice and dice a quotation from a liberal newspaper, a 100% Pro-Life voting record tells everything you need to know.

“Senator McCain has voted dozens of times for Planned Parenthood funding and fetal tissue research. Now he wants to hide his record of supporting extreme leftist judges like the ACLU’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Justice Breyer.

With ten more days remaining until the August 30th primary election let’s focus on Legislative District 28 (LD 28). Republican primary voters have a real chance to nominate a successful, well-educated female candidate to serve on their behalf in one of two legislative House seats for the next two years. Maria Syms is the only candidate running in LD28 with the potential to win in November and serve honorably for the State of Arizona. Please use your two votes to push her through the Republican primary.

Let’s take a look at Syms’ competition for the two House seats, and then evaluate Syms’ impressive background:

Ken Bowers, Jr. is the final candidate running for the Arizona House. It is quite difficult to know too much about who he is and where he stands on the issues because he has also decided to ignore candidate surveys issues by different associations and groups representing causes or industries throughout Arizona. He seems to only care about reforming Arizona’s correctional system and hasn’t given much thought to the broader issues facing Arizona’s future.

Alberto Gutier, III is an active PC in LD28. Unfortunately, he has not taken the time to fill out any candidate surveys or set up a website sharing his viewpoints on the issues. Nice guys typically don’t finish first in a competitive legislative race.

Mary Hamway is an uber liberal Republican In Name Only (RINO) candidate who is a retread from the 2014 election cycle. Hamway has spent so much time as a Paradise Valley town councilmember raising taxes and cutting funding for cops that she single-handedly jeopardizes a prosperous future for Arizona. Since Mary lacks the spine to vote publicly she and several of her other Big Government crony councilmembers rely on closed door executive sessions so they don’t have to truly make a public statement of town council matters. Hamway talks out of both sides of her mouth if you can bear to listen to her speak. Hamway has been an arduous proponent of Medicaid expansion and common core over the past several years. Hamway self-funded her 2014 loser campaign to the tune of nearly $100,000. After she lost to Bolick, she had her husband make a $500 campaign contribution to liberal pro-choice Democrat Eric Meyer. It is not surprising Hamway has been endorsed by the former Mayor of Paradise Valley, Scott Le Marr, who once served on the Planned Parenthood board.

Matt Morales is a moderate Republican precinct committeeman (PC) in LD28 who has been a registered lobbyist on behalf of the vaping and gaming industries. Need we highlight any more of his resume to illustrate that he is not a conservative choice. Morales likes to tell his fellow Republican voters how he encouraged Kate McGee in 2010 to use her maiden name “Brophy” to get elected to the Arizona House of Representatives. In 2014, Morales boasted of being Adam Driggs’ campaign manager. At the same time Morales worked on an Independent Expenditure (IE) to benefit only McGee and Driggs in the general election. Considering there was one additional Republican on the ballot for the other House seat this speaks volumes to Morales’ lack of character in electing Republicans to two House seats. One last point: it is laughable that Morales’ campaign signs say “conservative” and “personal freedom.” He answered the Arizona Voter Guide’s survey which is sponsored by Center for Arizona Policy as supportive of a living Constitution.

Maria Syms

Fortunately, LD28 has Maria Syms as their only conservative choice! She has taken the time to thoughtfully share her views on the issues in support or opposition against many policy issues facing Arizona. Syms has served honorably on her short time on the Paradise Valley Town Council. There aren’t many city elected officials who don’t vote in lockstep to vote for a tax increase, but Syms is one who has encouraged thoughtful conversation while holding the line on tax increases. If she wasn’t running for the Legislature she would be a perfect addition to Arizona’s Justice system. Her past job titles include: Assistant U.S. Attorney, Senior Adviser to Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich plus she is a Mom of three children spanning the school choice spectrum so she fully grasps education and opportunity for all!

When you vote by early ballot, or vote in person on August 30th please only vote for Syms! She is the real deal and the only choice to represent LD28 honorably.

SolarCity, a company who has one of the largest financial stakes in decisions that are made by the Corporation Commission is pouring money into Bob Burns re-election campaign through the AZ “Save Our Az Solar” committee. From mail pieces and robo calls, to Google and Facebook ads.

What they don’t want Republican voters to know is that they are desperately hoping their candidate makes it out of the Primary so they can team him up with the two Democrats in the General election.

Yes, that’s correct; the SolarCity Dream Team – Bob Burns and the two Democrats.

Oh, how the money and games flow, not quite like the Game of Thrones but still intriguing:
(click on chart)

(Gilbert, AZ) – Today, the Jones for Congress campaign released its latest commercial, “Gaggle,” in the Republican Primary race for CD-5.

The ad features a gaggle of career politicians competing for attention contrasted against successful conservative business leader, Christine Jones. In the ad, Jones asks the gaggle if they have created any jobs or balanced any budgets. They haven’t. She also discloses she hasn’t taken any special interest money. The career politicians clamor that they have. The ad is an accurate portrayal of the CD-5 race.

Jordan Ray, manager for the campaign remarked, “This ad hits the nail on the head when comparing Christine Jones to the current gaggle of career politicians in this race.” Ray continued, “Christine is a true-life success story. She’s helped create thousands of jobs, balanced budgets and helped grow a major technology company. She’s exactly who our congressional district needs.”

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